Writing Workshop for Scientists by Professor George Gopen

Coming in March

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John Caldwell and Tess Jones​

Improve your writing skills by attending a day-long workshop by Professor George Gopen, Professor of English and Law from Duke University. This is a campus-wide opportunity, open and free of charge to all faculty, fellows and students and co-sponsored by the School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Graduate School, the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI), the Center for Bioethics and Humanities, and the Academy of Medical Educators.

Who Should Attend

Are you interested in improving your chance at getting a manuscript published or a grant funded? Professor George Gopen will give an all-day presentation on Monday, March 11, 2013 at the Anschutz Medical Campus that will not only change how you think about writing but will also show you how to achieve clarity, coherence and accuracy in your writing.

This is not a lecture about split infinitives and punctuation (don’t bother dusting off your Elements of Style by Strunk and White), but it is about ensuring that reviewers and readers can easily follow your arguments, discussions and conclusions. This workshop will be valuable for everyone who writes and reads, including those of us who edit colleagues' manuscripts, correct student theses, and review grant proposals.

Scientific Writing at its Best

Earning both a doctorate in English and law degree from Harvard University, Dr. Gopen has been a professor of English and Rhetoric at Duke University for the past twenty-eight years. In that time he has taught medical and law school faculty members and students how to write more clearly and effectively. He is the author of “The Science of Scientific Writing,” a paper designated as a “classic” by the journal American Scientist. His lectures are interactive, lively and filled with examples to illustrate his concepts. When David Schwartz, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine, was at Duke, he encouraged all his trainees attend Professor Gopen’s in-depth workshop. David found that Dr. Gopen’s workshop substantially improved the ability of his trainees to write scientifically.

As documentary filmmaker and marine biologist Randy Olson points out in his book Don’t Be Such a Scientist, communicating results in a clear and engaging way is essential, yet few of us receive formal training on the craft of writing. Devoting a day of learning to rethink how you write and think more about what you write is likely to be more important than any meeting or experiment you have planned. Block out the day and encourage your students to sign up too.